California's love affair with the pomegranate began long before there were antioxidants. There were pomegranates in California even before gold was discovered - Spanish missionaries planted them in 1769.

Pomegranates figure big in the Mediterranean cooking of Spain and the Middle East. But in California, they languished on the table as mere decorative objects until recent years, when we rediscovered how juicy and sweet and tart and refreshing and versatile they really are. And don't forget their nutritional benefits.

Pomegranates are available from September through the end of the year. California's crop comes from Fresno and Tulare counties, in equal parts Grenada, Wonderful and Ruby Red varieties.

The ones that look the best, with bright color and a stiff crown, are the best. Pick up two that are roughly the same size, and choose the heavier one, which will be juiciest. Look for deep and consistent color, varying from a deep red to a more brownish-red.

A light pink pomegranate is not ripe, and the fruit won't ripen off the tree. Avoid the ones with brown spots, soft spots or major cracks. But cracks along the crown are OK - after a rain, a ripe pomegranate may split and crack along the crown.

Seed a pomegranate just as you'd peel an orange. Slice off the top, score the peel into six sections, and then gently pull the sections apart to open the fruit. Remove the white membrane and then extract the arils - seeds encased in a juicy sac.

It's easiest to remove the arils while dunking the sections in a bowl of water. The pieces of white membrane will float to the top, and the arils won't fly everywhere, pop and stain your clothes. You can store the arils in a plastic bag in the freezer for several months.

They're great atop a salad- a simple mix of tossed greens and fresh goat cheese dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette. They'll brighten up a dish of roasted sweet potatoes and squash, and add a sweet-tart pop to a breakfast of yogurt and honey.

A whole pomegranate can be left on the kitchen counter for a few days or in a cool and dry spot in the house for several weeks. Or store it in the refrigerator for up to six months. The peel will wrinkle and dry, but the insides will remain juicy and fresh.

To juice a pomegranate, vigorously roll the fruit along the counter, pressing hard to break up the arils. Lob off the top and squeeze the juice into a glass. Or just poke a straw directly into the pomegranate. Each pomegranate should yield about 1 cup of juice.

But while juicing a pomegranate is a fun organic party trick, it's a lot of work. I wouldn't do it more than once. There are plenty of lovely pomegranate juices on the market.

Pomegranate juice can be used to make grenadine syrup- just boil equal amounts of pomegranate juice and sugar for five minutes. And pomegranate juice makes lovely jelly, with a barely sweet, punchy flavor.

The jelly works well with roast duck or as a substitute for cranberry sauce on a Thanksgiving table. It's nice between layers of pound cake, and adds just enough sweetness to a round of baked brie.

The accompanying pomegranate jelly recipe is the last in our series of preserving seasonal fruits. It's also one of the easiest. And, while the recipe doesn't take advantage of fresh pomegranates, it uses their juice to preserve their balance of sweet-tart flavor that's welcome at any point in the year.

Californians of all eras would approve.

Pomegranate Jelly

Makes 4 8-ounce jars

This recipe calls for Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is found at natural food stores like Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco, Berkeley Bowl in Berkeley and at some Whole Foods Markets (also at pomonapectin.com). What's unique about this pectin is that it is activated by calcium, not sugar. You can create a jelly in which the pomegranate's tartness shines - a jelly with bright flavor that pairs well with roast duck and makes a great filling for a cream cheese pound cake.

1 box Pomona's Universal Pectin (no substitute)

32 ounces (4 cups) unsweetened pomegranate juice

1/4 to 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses (optional)

4 tablespoons lemon juice

4 teaspoons calcium water (calcium is in the pectin box)

2 cups sugar

4 teaspoons pectin (from the pectin box)

Instructions: Wash 4 8-ounce canning jars and their lids in hot sudsy water; set the lids and rings aside. Sterilize the jars by placing them in a deep-dish baking pan in a 200° oven for at least 20 minutes or until they're ready to be filled.

At the same time, prepare the boiling water bath by filling one large pot with water and bringing it to a boil.

Open the box of Pomona's Universal Pectin. Inside you'll find two pouches. The smaller one is ine white calcium powder. The bigger envelope is filled with a beige powder- that's the pectin.

Combine 1/4 teaspoon of the white calcium powder with 1/4 cup of water in a small jar, put the lid on, and shake it up until the calcium powder dissolves and the water is cloudy. You won't use all of this calcium water for this recipe, so refrigerate the leftovers up to 4 months to use in future jelly-making.

In a large non-aluminum pot, combine the pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses (if using), lemon juice and 4 teaspoons of well-mixed calcium water. Stir together with a wooden spoon; put the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar and the 4 teaspoons pectin in a large bowl.

When the juice mixture begins to boil, slowly pour in the sugar-pectin mixture, using the whisk to stir constantly. Bring mixture to a rolling boil, and then remove the pot from the stove.

Remove the jars from the oven, and, using a wide-mouth funnel, ladle the liquid slowly into the hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Clean any spills off the sides and rims of the jar with a clean dish towel or a moist paper towel. Screw the lids on firmly, but not too tightly.

Use tongs (see note) to place the jars in the boiling water bath so that they're covered with water; boil for 10 minutes.

Remove jars from the water bath and let cool. The liquid will firm up into a jelly as it cools.

Note: Unless you have canning tongs, wrap rubber bands on the ends of conventional tongs, which will help create a more secure grip.

Pomegranate Ruz Sandwich

Serves 1

This is a riff on a Cuban staple, the Elena Ruz sandwich - turkey, cream cheese and strawberry jam on a medianoche roll, a challah-like bread that's soft and sweet and yellow from egg yolks. The sandwich dates back to the 1930s, when a young socialite - Elena Ruz - would stop by one of Havana's all-night diners after a night on the dance floor and order her favorite sandwich. We've updated it to tone down the sweetness by replacing the strawberry jam with the pomegranate jelly. It makes the sandwich slightly more grown up.

-- Cream cheese

-- Pomegranate jelly

2 slices of challah or another semisweet egg bread, toasted

-- Roast turkey

Instructions: Spread generous amounts of cream cheese and pomegranate jelly on a toasted slice of challah. Add in a slab of roast turkey breast or sliced turkey. Top with another slice of challah. If desired, press in a hot sandwich press or panini maker until the cream cheese starts to melt and spread into the jelly.

For the previous three Preserving columns, see the links with this story on www.sfgate.com/food. Carolina Braunschweig of San Francisco is a former tech reporter and the founder of CMB Sweets, which she closed in December 2010. She is working on a new food business. E-mail: food@sfchronicle.com